Early mornings and deer flies

-
Holy camoly did I have a good ride today! We are thick in the middle of our second scorching heat wave (and ensuing forest fires) of spring, as summer just started yesterday. It is an unusual weather pattern.

So I planned for an early start to get on the trails for a quick ride before the sun started beating at 10. I was back at the barn with a sweaty horse in tow by 945.

I had planned for a short loop of mostly walk and trot with a bit of canter. I wanted to check in with my buddy Q as our last trail ride ended in a “discussion” about key principles when heading home, and our ride after that was a tough cantering session that left Q with sweaty eyeballs. So it was time for another trail diagnostic.

He was brilliant. An angel. The deer flies were out in abundance so by the second mile I launched us into lovely jog that Q proceeded to maintain in rhythm without prodding, holding or any aiding as he was on the buckle for two miles. It was so smooth and relaxed that I was able to pull out my iphone, unlock it, flip to video and record two different stretches without missing a beat (except for the last video where at the mid-point he dropped to a walk for one stride, I added a light calf on the left and he resumed the jog). It was our most brilliant stretch of jog on the buckle ever.




By the time we got back to the barn, the last stretch home under the baking sun must have sucked all the energy out of him. He became lethargic and I towed him into the washstall for a very long icy shower, and then we went to graze some grass as he cooled off.

Its become a running gag that my food-centric horse will only let me eat an apple in his presence without pestering me IF he is grazing grass. So I grabbed an apple and watched him graze. And then he looked at my apple and decided he wanted it. Given how awesome he was on trail, I was feeling unusually benevolent so I gave it to him. He took one bite, dumped the rest on the ground and went back to the grass. I took a picture of his disdain as I picked up his rejected apple and reoffered it to him. No thanks.



The scorcher of the day had most hiding under our “Tree of Wisdom”. Even the horse was enjoying his moment in the shade. It is literally 10 degrees cooler under there and often with a nice breeze. But the projects and ideas we cook up under there lose all traction when we leave the tree to be in the scorching sun. These heat waves have me pining for the cool of winter.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ouch says the ground

-
Image
Zoom, zoom ... ouch. Finally one of the coolest days is here. Sunny, blue skies, low humidity and temps in mid-twenties. Perfect riding weather. Particularly after our surprise storm on Wednesday that left tons of debris and fallen trees and branches on the trails. Surprise storm brewing a few days ago. Within a few minutes, there were huge circular gusts of wind, almost like a Tornado. The next day volunteer crews were out removing the fallen trees. But some trails still have significant debris. I was heading out with trail buddy C and her azteca mare to explore section 5. I told her I needed some media for my summer challenge. She was happy to oblige not quite knowing what other objectives I had in mind. Most of the trail was lovely and I even tackled the jump trail, with a series of cross-country log jumps, for the first time. Q was just simply amazing, leading sometimes or in the back sometimes. The two horses have a trot that is simply in s
Read more

Stepping out in Hungary

-
Image
So its the last night at the ranch in the steppes, or grasslands, of Hungary. Its mostly quite flat in an undulating kind of way with patches of forests and marshlands. This national park is a bird sanctuary and we see the occasional deer along the way. While much of it feels familiar because of the sand and pine forests, there are a few notable differences. First, the sand roads go on for long distances which has us often cantering 3-5 km stretches. Thats 3-4 times the distance we generally do at home. Second, there are no electric high transmission power lines to mar the view. Third, the grass sections stretch out for miles in each direction with a view that is not customary. The ranch is great. We figured out a good rhythm after a few days that had us gathering in the sauna and jacuzzi in the evening because there is literally nothing else to do. The beat here is very relaxed, and we have all achieved a great zen state. We had a good reining lesson this morning when they p
Read more

Canter Protocol

-
Image
I do lots of different kinds of rides, with lots of different kinds of riders. But cantering always has me stumped. I have an established checklist of rules, but not everybody shares my view on this. Here is the short version I do not ride on trail with anybody who is not comfortable cantering their horse (at least in an arena). I don't want their first canter experience to be the spook and bolt when their horse sees a deer. I will occasionally make an exception to this rule for very short and controlled trail rides within proximity to the barn. I do not race. The order we start in, must be maintained until the end. No passing. With some of my trail buddies we will canter side by side, and it is glorious! I do not gallop. I have made a few exceptions to this rule with individuals that I trust, and on a trail I know well. The gallop stretch never lasts very long. I do not canter up ravines or anywhere I do not have a long line of sight. Again, I sometimes make exceptions to this on
Read more

Pocketful of mints, aka the slowroll

-
Image
It has been over twenty-five years since I did a solo trail ride bareback. Today was the day. Q was amazing, and gave me the confidence to ride on the buckle most of the way. When we came up to a road crossing, I got nervous because I could hear an unseen car climbing the road and was afraid it was the roadster sans muffler that had been gunning it up and down the road earlier. So I asked Q to trot, and he steadily complied with the smoothest transitions. Comfy and confident! The last time I had done this was with my first QH Rocky that I moved from Canada to Costa Rica (in the winter - bad idea) to live on the Pacific Ocean with me. We would go ride on the beach and in the ocean and bareback was the way to go. It was mostly walking around and I honestly don’t remember galloping bareback since my poney days as a teenager. Of course my new best friends bareback pad is amazing. It provides a little cushion, gives a stickiness to my seat with the suede-like top and adheres to Q
Read more

Pumpkin Spice and the empty cup

-
Image
Annual Trail Rides 202/200 (Bareback 29/40) Ive been reminded of the zen proverb about the empty cup a few times these last few months, and I think it is such a powerful analogy when it comes to learning and growth. Obviously, horses are an incredible catalyst to self-awareness, learning and growth and my Q is no exception. The zen proverb is based on a zen master receiving a student who has come to learn but spends all his time explaining to the master his great accomplishments and successes. The zen master invites him to tea and then proceeds to filling his tea cup until it is overflowing. The student exclaims while the tea is spilling over the the table, and the zen master says "you are like this cup. Overfilled. I can not add to your learning until you empty your cup." Its come to my attention recently that Q prompted me to empty my cup a few years ago, and it continues to be something I am working on. It started when he first arrived, and I could not touch his ears or pu
Read more